Cancers are the leading cause of death in animals and humans. The exact cause of cancer is not known, but links between certain activities such as smoking or exposure to carcinogens and the incidence of certain types of cancers and tumors has been shown by a number of researchers.
Many types of chemotherapeutic agents have been shown to be effective against cancers and tumor cells, but not all types of cancers and tumors respond to these agents. Unfortunately many of these agents also destroy normal cells. The exact mechanism for the action of these chemotherapeutic agents are not always known.
Despite advances in the field of cancer treatment the leading therapies to date are surgery, radiation and chemotherapy. Chemotherapeutic approaches are said to fight cancers that are metastasized or ones that are particularly aggressive. Such cytocidal or cytostatic agents work best on cancers with large growth factors, i.e., ones whose cells are rapidly dividing. To date, hormones, in particular estrogen, progesterone and testosterone, and some antibiotics produced by a variety of microbes, alkylating agents, and anti-metabolites form the bulk of therapies available to oncologists. Ideally cytotoxic agents that have specificity for cancer and tumor cells while not affecting normal cells would be extremely desirable. Unfortunately, none have been found and instead agents which target especially rapidly dividing cells (both tumor and normal) have been used.
Clearly, the development of materials that would target tumor cells due to some unique specificity for them would be a breakthrough. Alternatively, materials that were cytotoxic to tumor cells while exerting mild effects on normal cells would be desirable. It is believed that the phosphonoglycine derivatives in combination with chemotherapeutic agents can suppress and reduce the growth of cancer cells, including leukemia.
Therefore, it is an object of this invention to provide a pharmaceutical composition that is effective in both suppressing and inhibiting the growth of tumors and cancers in mammals.
It has been found that the N-phosphonoglycines are especially effective in suppressing the growth of the cancer, tumor, virus, or bacteria. The use of these N-phosphonoglycines in combination with other chemotherapeutic agents which are effective in destroying the tumor is a novel method of treatment.
More specifically, it is an object of this invention to provide an anti-cancer composition comprising a pharmaceutical carrier and an N-phosphonoglycine derivative and a chemotherapeutic agent as defined herein along with a method of treating such cancers.
These phosphonoglycines compositions along with potentiators are also effective against viruses. The phosphonoglycine compositions can be used to treat viral infections. Therefore, it is a further object of this invention to provide a method of treating viral infections such as herpes simplex, HIV, influenza and rhinoviruses.
These and other objects will become evident from the following detailed description of this inventions.